Frying coils. 83 w/ PMA

[Lluber]

Hey guys,

Im having a issue w/ burning up coils. I have a PMA installed, and initially I had a set of mikes green monsters. They fried. I wasn't fully sure what the cause was. First thought was water damage as the coils are up front I have no front fender and a few rides in the rain. I checked the coil terminals and they were corroded, I had assumed that was the cause. I replaced those coils with new Dynatek coils. At the time I ordered them I did so at the advice of a friend who also helped me rebuild the bike to its current (IMO amazing state) I now realize that dynatek says not to run the 3ohm coils on the street. So thats mistake #1 on my part. however the bike ran beautifully for a while with those coils then she started getting finicky.

For the last few months I've been getting a bad flat spot at 1/4 throttle, then boom the bike blasts. I had just replaced the coils a few months earlier. Maybe my carbs are fouled up? Well I attempted to chase down the flat spot by adjusting needles (now running adjustable) but after much cleaning and adjusting the flat spot is still there. So this week I got to working on the bike again and thought maybe its electrical (again) Pull the coils, pull the plug wires (rusted and corroded AGAIN!!) I've tested the coils and they are bad. Possible that they got water logged my garage has a nasty leak, I thought the bike was out of the way of the leak but it had been getting rained on during Los Angeles monsoon season this year. I do think the coils should be able to stand up to some water/rain but maybe I'm wrong. Ive seen a few other threads going into detail about running coils. Links to other threads/ideas greatly appreciated. Im not the most mechanically inclined but I'm good at following steps and moving slow . Pic of my pride and joy for some attention.

 

[azman857]

Have you tried going up on your pilot jets? What ignition are you running? Dynatek? Could we get a pic of it, please? Nice looking ride you got there. What tank is that?

 

[Superjet]

Looks to be an Xs 360 or 500 tank. Too bad about your coils. Nice looking bike for sure.

 

[Lluber]

Have you tried going up on your pilot jets? What ignition are you running? Dynatek? Could we get a pic of it, please? Nice looking ride you got there. What tank is that?

I tested the resistance on the coils. They're done so my suspicion that it wasn't carb related was correct. Both coils and both lead cables are shot. I believe its a xs400 tank however it was gift from a friend who had it in his shop for a while so im not 100% on which bike its off of. The square shape fit the stocky look I was aiming for.

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Lluber,
didja go with a capacitor instead of a battery when you drank the PMA koolade?
If so I betcha the capacitor's nasty spiky approximation of 12Volts DC has a lot to do with your coil failures.
And didja know that the front fender you removed was also a fork brace?
If your sense of style won't let you put it back on, try a TKAT or other aftermarket substitute.
While I agree with the previous posts saying that's a very handsome bike, looks is secondary to working good, eh?

 

[Lluber]

Hi Lluber,
didja go with a capacitor instead of a battery when you drank the PMA koolade?
If so I betcha the capacitor's nasty spiky approximation of 12Volts DC has a lot to do with your coil failures.
And didja know that the front fender you removed was also a fork brace?
If your sense of style won't let you put it back on, try a TKAT or other aftermarket substitute.
While I agree with the previous posts saying that's a very handsome bike, looks is secondary to working good, eh?

First off, yes you are right. I went for looks first and function second. I'm a designer so to me the visual aspect did come first. Unfortunatly it probably always will and I am prepared to pay the price and learn how to make something look great and work. Bikes are never finished and Im ok knowing that im gonna make some mistakes and have to rethink things. logic says running 2x16" wheels is dumb and makes it handle like a log.. but it looks mean.

I didn't do the capacitor. Im running a 8 cell ballistic battery. Battery is strong. I removed it, checked the charge and checked the voltage drop over a few days. It holds a charge fine. There is spiked/sloppy voltage coming to the battery when its running. No PMA koolaid. I had experienced every issue with the stock electric system and finally got fed up with the mess and rats nest of a harness. Good call on the fork brace company. I do need a fender and this might be a suitable solution.

 

[5twins]

You installed a PMA so that means you did drink that Kool-Aid. Sounds like your cup needs a refill, or at least a topping up, lol. Unfortunately, most of the PMA kits contain cheap Chinese components, and many of those don't last long. Sounds like your regulator may have gone bad. They do make good PMA regulators now but they're not cheap. But you will probably need to bite the bullet and get one. Another cheap replacement will probably just burn out again in a short time. The thing is, even these cheap ones aren't, they cost around $40. New good ones (series type) are $100 or more.

 

[Superjet]

Gonna fry your expensive battery soon too if you keep on riding it. Gonna bulge into a molten pile as we have seen early fall last year. You should have an on board voltmeter to key an eye on it. Cheap Chinese reg/rec overheat/burn up/fail all the time on cheap PMA units....do a search you will be surprised how many have had the same problem as you. Many are running OEM rotor and stator along with DIY reg / rec and have been proven runners for years.

 

[Lluber]

Its a higher end reg/rec <-- kinda like that but the 3 phase. Replaced the chinese one that came w/ the PMA. Im trying to fix the issue before I start sizzlin other parts. No more brapp till this gets sorted.

 

[fredintoon]

First off, yes you are right. I went for looks first and function second. I'm a designer so to me the visual aspect did come first. Unfortunatly it probably always will and I am prepared to pay the price and learn how to make something look great and work. Bikes are never finished and Im ok knowing that im gonna make some mistakes and have to rethink things. logic says running 2x16" wheels is dumb and makes it handle like a log.. but it looks mean.
I didn't do the capacitor. Im running a 8 cell ballistic battery. Battery is strong. I removed it, checked the charge and checked the voltage drop over a few days. It holds a charge fine. There is spiked/sloppy voltage coming to the battery when its running. No PMA koolaid. I had experienced every issue with the stock electric system and finally got fed up with the mess and rats nest of a harness. Good call on the fork brace company. I do need a fender and this might be a suitable solution.

Hi Lluber,
looks before function may be OK for designing artwork but it ain't OK for designing any type of machine.
I had a small part in designing the Concorde and that bird looked fast because it WAS fast, not t'other way round.
IMHO your front wheel don't only look mean, it looks mean and stupid but a simple re-lace to a 19" rim will fix that.
Also, when the bike is running the ignition don't see the battery's smooth 12Volts, it sees the spiked sloppy Voltage from the charging system.
&BTW, your stock electrics problems can't be blamed on their design, the true villain was the dreaded PO who messed with it.